Descriptive Summary
Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan
UniversityBaker, Osmon C. (Osmon Cleander),
1812-1871.Osmon C. Baker Collection, 1827 - 1869, 19341000-85Material in English1.253For current information on the location of these materials,
please consult Special Collections & Archives staff.Osmon Cleander Baker attended the Wesleyan Academy (now Wilbraham
Academy) and Wesleyan University. Active in the Methodist Episcopal church, he taught
and administered at the Newbury Seminary in Vermont and
the Methodist General Biblical Institute, in Concord, New Hampshire. In 1852, he was elected a bishop of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.The Osmon C. Baker Collection is arranged into two main series. The first, Accession
#1000-85, contains materials from Baker's education at Wesleyan University,
including notes, essays, and an autograph album. The second series, Accession
#1000-208, is mostly comprised of correspondence to and from Baker. The
correspondence begins during Baker's time at the Wesleyan Academy and continues to his
service as a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The series also includes
family materials and a small number of writings by Baker.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all
other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their
descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Series 1 (Accession #1000-85) given by Ohio Northern University Library in
October 1977. Series 2 (Accession #1000-208) given by William A. Morrill, Class
of 1952, around 2007.

Processing Information

Processed by Patricia Bodak Stark, Valerie Gillispie, April 2011

Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, April 2011

Biographical Note

Osmon Cleander Baker, born July 30, 1812 in Marlow, New Hampshire, attended the Wesleyan
Academy (now Wilbraham Academy) in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, from 1827 to 1830. He was a member of the
Wesleyan University class of 1834, and worked as a preacher while he was a student.
However, he did not graduate with his class, as he left college during his senior
year, possibly due to illness. Baker taught in the Newbury Seminary in Vermont from
1834 to 1839, and was principal of the institution from 1839 to 1843.

Active in the Methodist Episcopal church, he was a member of the New Hampshire
Conference from 1844 to 1847. Baker served as a professor at the Methodist General
Biblical Institute, in Concord, New Hampshire from 1847 to 1849, then as President
from 1850 to 1852. He was elected a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
1852. In 1858, Baker University in Kansas was named in Baker's honor.

Baker died in Concord, New Hampshire, December 20, 1871.

Collection Overview

The Osmon C. Baker Collection is arranged into two main series. The first, Accession
#1000-85, contains materials from Baker's education at Wesleyan University,
including notes, essays, and an autograph album. The second series, Accession
#1000-208, is mostly comprised of correspondence to and from Baker. The
correspondence begins during Baker's time at the Wesleyan Academy and continues to his
service as a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The series also includes
family materials and a small number of writings by Baker.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online
catalogs.

12Outlines of Dr. Fisk’s Moral and Religious
Lectures begun March 13th, 183312The Lord’s Prayer, Illustrated12Notes on religion12Notes on Natural Philosophy12The System of Epicurus13The Claims of Society,
Wesleyan University, October 18, 183113Chemistry notes13Government notes13Sincerity, Wesleyan
University, December 27, 183013Fragment of a scheme (essay),
May 30, 183314A letter to Mr. Editor, on
baptism, November 18, 183014Portions of essays15Lines Written on the Departure of
Salmon C. Perry, Wilbraham, October 16, 182815Scripture for Gospel Perfection,
Sanctification, Holiness of Heart, and Leasing from Sin15Notes on Natural Philosophy16The Exercises of my mind relation to
Preaching, 182916Reflection, [poem],
Wilbraham, May 5, 182916A Good Disposition,
Middletown, Conn., December 24, 183016Lines composed by [?] Wilson previous to his
death July 10, 1831, member of the college17Autograph album